Abstract：Objective To understand the status of maternal anemia during pregnancy,and to explore its correlation with developmental delay among children in 8 counties in central and western China,in order to provide evidence for intervention. Methods A cross-sectional study with probability proportional to size (PPS) sampling method was conducted in 8 counties in central and western China from October 2016 to January 2017. Data of maternal anemia during pregnancy of 1 100 children aged 1-59 months were obtained. Ages and Stages Questionnaires (ASQ) were used to evaluate the developmental outcomes of children. Multivariate Logistic regression model was applied to estimate the odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) after adjustment for potential confounding variables. Results Totally 419(38.1%) mothers had maternal anemia during pregnancy in surveyed areas. Maternal anemia during pregnancy was a risk factor for suspected developmental delay in communication domain (OR=2.02,95%CI:1.09-3.75,P=0.025) and overall ASQ (OR=1.63,95%CI:1.12-2.38,P=0.011) after adjustment for children's gender,children's age,parity,delivery mode,gestational age,birth weight,malnutrition,anemia in children,annual per capita net income of the family and maternal education. Conclusion Maternal anemia during pregnancy is correlated with suspected developmental delay among children in in central and western China.